So, for instance, if the female offspring receives the chromosome for black fur from both of its parents, she will have black fur. Likewise, another cell may silence the X-chromosome from the father and instead use the chromosome from the mother. That cell then creates more cells, each of which will use the father’s X-chromosome to determine the fur color. One cell may shut off the X-chromosome from the mother while leaving the chromosome from the father. The important thing here is that the same X-chromosome does not inactivate for each cell. Each cell only needs one X-chromosome, so early on when the feline embryo is developing, one of the two gets shut off, with the inactivated one supercoiling into something called a “Barr Body.” But females receive an X-chromosome from both the mother and father. A male offspring only receives an X-chromosome from his mother, so that alone determines his fur color. Why is this so important to the topic at hand? Because in cats the X-chromosome determines most of the fur color (with the potential exception of white). This is true for both humans and cats, along with many other animals. Thus, a female receives an X-chromosome from both of her parents while a male receives an X-chromosome from his mother and a Y-chromosome from his father. This allows them to pass down either an X-chromosome or a Y-chromosome to their offspring, determining the genetic gender. Males, on the other hand, have an X-chromosome and a Y-chromosome. As you may or may not be aware, females have two X-chromosomes, meaning that they can only pass down an X-chromosome to their offspring.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |